Hi I've just joined this Forum tonight in the hope I might learn more about the 200 Series Turbo Diesel land cruiser. I have just spent the last 3 days driving various new Toyotal Diesel 200 land cruisers - both GXL and VX 200 series. Ths new generation vehicle appears to be a huge upgrade on my trusty old 80 series turbo diesel which has done 318K and has now reached 22 years. Although I must point out I was not impressed with KDSS suspension over the standard GLX set up. I found the KDSS/VX model to be over damped on made roads displaying unexpected nervous twitches over relatively minor road bumps. The GLX was far more predictable soaking up bumps with ease. Despite favourable driving impressions, I am rapidly losing enthusiasm for the new 200 series engine given the large number of reliability issues which seem to plague this vehicle including: high oil consumption, injector noise, clunking drive shafts. To make matters worse numerous unhappy owners report a consistently poor response from Toyota which raises further questions about the true value of the warranty. Given the 200 series has now been in production for several years it is unacceptable that the high oils consumption problem has not been completely solved by now. This reminds me of the big end debacle with some 80 series diesels that had faulty shell bearings in the 90's to which toyotal never officially acknowledged the problem - but under pressure changed big end bearings for customers who complained the loudest. I know the web tends to capture negative experience and can sometimes lack balance, so before making a final decision I would like to hear from happy 200 series diesel owners if any exist? My dilemma is my current vehicle while dated is totally reliable does not have any issues other than those expected from a vehicle of this age. In particular it doesn't burn oil or represent a financial liability. A huge plus is that I can fix virtually everything that needs to be replaced - economically.(!) I am not prepared to pay 80K plus (a staggering amount) for a car with systemic issues. Even if I do find most people are happy I will be asking Toyota some very tough questions before I purchase the car
